Monday, July 23, 2007

WHY A DUCK ? WHY JIM THORPE ?

On two occasions, I have taken my family up to the Poconos to do white water rafting. After checking-in, you are given an informal briefing as to the do's and don'ts of Lehigh River rafting etiquette. Then everyone piles into a school bus and are taken through Carbon County along rural route 903. Ten miles later in the mountains, you can see how the area earned the nickname, "Switzerland of America."

When the bus enters the east side of a tiny town, the driver slows down to a crawl. On the right, he points out through a cluster of tourists, a large granite mausoleum in a park-like setting. The name of the town is Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania.

A native American and descendant of Chief Black Hawk, Jim Thorpe was born in the Oklahoma territory in 1888. He was voted one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century AND back in 1950, he was voted THE greatest athlete of the first half-century. Thorpe's rise to prominence was due to his spectacular performance in the pentathlon and decathlon during the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm Sweden. When King Gustav met Thorpe he said, "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world." To which Thorpe responded, "Thanks, King."A ticker-tape parade in New York City welcomed him back to the states and from it, superstar Thorpe became a celebrity. That is until a newspaper reporter uncovered that Thorpe, prior to the Olympics had played baseball in North Carolina for sixty dollars a month. This legitimate technicality had cost Thorpe his amateur status. Although he claimed ignorance of the law, he was stripped of his gold medals and his name was taken out of the record books. Thorpe was disgraced and never recovered.

On a low level, Thorpe managed to stay in the limelight. Among other things, he played major league baseball with the New York Giants. But as the years went by, his depression led to alcoholism and a decline in health. His situation worsened because he gave "his people" a lot of his money and was in many cases exploited.

He and his wife Patricia were so poor by 1951 that when he developed cancer, a Philadelphia hospital took him on as a charity case. Jim Thorpe was sixty-five when he died in 1953. Then, Jim's native state of Oklahoma refused to assist Mrs. Thorpe in erecting a suitable memorial in his honor.

So why is Thorpe buried in Northeast Pennsylvania and why does the whole town bear his name? Jim's only connection to Pennsylvania came when attended the Carlisle Indian Academy near Harrisburg. But that was a hundred miles away and there's no proof that he ever visited coal country or had any links to it.

The story starts in a tiny settlement called Coalville. When the depth of the anthracite coal bonanza was realized, entrepreneurs rushed into the area. By 1818, the town became so large that it became two separate municipalities and changed its name Mauch Chunk (Bear Mountain) and East Mauch Chunk.

Mauch Chunk became a vital coal distribution point as the Lehigh River was used to ship the coal out. When the railroad came in, production skyrocketed and the region boomed. In and around the 1840's, despite the danger and disproportionally low pay, poor Irish immigrants were attracted to the area and became miners. The area's Protestant coal and railroad tycoons treated the miners with as much dignity as they would a pick-ax. The working conditions were deplorable. Deaths and injuries from cave-ins, and other mishaps plus lung disease were rampant.

To fight these conditions, an underground terrorist network called the Molly Maguires was formed. A movie, based on truth, by that name from 1970 starred Sean Connery and Richard Harris. The film depicts Connery as a Molly Maguire leader while Harris is a Pinkerton Detective hired by the tycoons to infiltrate the organization and destroy it.

An interesting piece of negative American history, scenes from this 2 1/2 star movie was filmed on location in Jim Thorpe.

In the 1930's, the great depression hit Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk hard. Jobs became scarce and a good deal of its population left. However, when the rest of the nation bounced back, they didn't.

When Jim Thorpe died in 1953, the town learned of Mrs. Thorpe's plight. So, in an attempt to reverse the town's continuous downward spiral, they approached her with the idea of memorializing him and naming the town after him.

Spear-headed by the memorial, today Jim Thorpe and its 4,800 permanent residents are a revitalized community. Rafting the Lehigh River and other nearby outdoor activities attract many tourists. There are also museums as well as tours of the mines and canals. Additionally, cultural events and street fairs take place in the town's Victorian business district. Beautifully juxtaposed against the mountains; galleries, restaurants and Bed & Breakfasts make Jim Thorpe great family fun or as a romantic getaway.

NEIL ARMSTRONG - ASTRONAUNT (1930-2012)

MARCEL MARCEAU - MIME, ACTOR (1923-2007)

"FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALL MIGHTY, I'M FREE AT LAST." and "DARKNESS CANNOT DRIVE OUT DARKNESS. ONLY LIGHT CAN DO THAT. HATE CANNOT DRIVE OUT HATE. ONLY LOVE CAN DO THAT." and "I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER."

LINDSAY NELSON - SPORTSCASTER - (1919-1995)

"THEY, (THE 1962, NEW YORK METS), PLAYED FOR FUN, BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T PLAY ANY OTHER WAY."

SAM LEVENSON - HUMORIST-JOURNALIST (1911-1980)

IF YOU DIE IN AN ELEVATOR, BE SURE TO PRESS THE "UP" BUTTON.

BUDDHA (SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA) - SPIRITUAL TEACHER (c. 563 BC - 483 BC)

"THOUSANDS OF CANDLES CAN BE LIT FROM A SINGLE CANDLE, AND THE LIFE OF THE CANDLE WILL NOT BE SHORTENED. HAPPINESS NEVER DECREASES BY BEING SHARED." and "YOU CAN SEARCH THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE FOR SOMEONE MORE DESERVING OF YOUR LOVE AND AFFECTION THAN YOU ARE YOURSELF AND THAT PERSON IS NOT TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE. YOU YOURSELF, AS MUCH AS ANYBODY IN THE UNIVERSE, DESERVE YOUR LOVE AND AFFECTION."

MOTHER TERESA - NUN & MISSIONARY (1910-1997)

"I KNOW GOD WILL NOT GIVE ME ANYTHING I CAN'T HANDLE, I JUST WISH HE DIDN'T TRUST ME SO MUCH."

SHIRLEY JACKSON - AUTHOR (1916-1965)

"I HAVE OFTEN NOTICED THAT ONE CAN OBSERVE WITH DETATCHMENT, SIGHTS THAT WHEN PUT INTO WORDS BECOME DISGUSTING."

MALCOLM X. - CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, CLERGYMAN (1925-1965)

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SO BLIND WITH PATRIOTISM THAT YOU CAN'T FACE REALITY. WRONG IS WRONG NO MATTER WHO SAYS IT OR DOES IT."

MEL BLANC - VOICE ACTOR, COMEDIAN (1908-1989)

"THAT'S ALL FOLKS!"

MUHAMMAD ALI - BOXER, SOCIAL ACTIVIST (1942-Present)

"I AM THE GREATEST."

JACKIE GLEASON - ACTOR, COMEDIAN (1916-1987)

"THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO WITH MONEY... IS SAVE IT."

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU - 1st PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA - 1889-1964

"LIFE IS LIKE A GAME OF CARDS, THE HAND YOU ARE DEALT IS DETERMINISM. THE WAY YOU PLAY IT, IS FREE WILL."

HARRY TRUMAN - 33RD U.S. PRESIDENT - (1884-1972)

"IT'S A RECESSION WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOR LOSES HIS JOB; IT'S A DEPRESSION WHEN YOU LOSE YOURS."

EDGAR ALLAN POE - AUTHOR (1809-1849)

"I HAVE NO FAITH IN HUMAN PERFECTABILITY. I THINK THAT HUMAN EXERTION WILL HAVE NO APPRECIABLE EFFECT UPON HUMANITY. MAN IS NOW ONLY MORE ACTIVE-NOT MORE HAPPY-NOR WISE, THAN HE WAS 6000 YEARS AGO."

CONFUCIUS - SOCIAL PHILOSOPHER - (551 BC - 479 BC)

"NEVER IMPOSE ONTO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD NOT CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF."

RODNEY DANGERFIELD - ACTOR - COMEDIAN - (1921-2004)

MY LUCK IS SO BAD, IF I INVESTED IN A CEMETERY, PEOPLE WOULD STOP DYING....Dangerfield's Tombstone, "THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD."

ZSA ZSA GABOR - ACTRESS - (1917-PRESENT)

"I NEVER HATED A MAN ENOUGH TO GIVE BACK HIS DIAMONDS."

RONALD REAGAN - 40th U.S. PRESIDENT - ACTOR (1911-2004)

"IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT POLITICS IS THE SECOND OLDEST PROFESSION. I HAVE LEARNED THAT IT BEARS A STRIKING RESEMBLENCE TO THE FIRST.'

HASKEL "HY" EDELBLUM - FATHER, ROLE MODEL, ARTIST (1928-1995)

"IF SOMEONE IS TALKING TO THEM SELF AND YOU ANSWER, THEN THEY AREN'T TALKING TO THEM SELF."

OPRAH WINFREY TV Host, Producer, Philantropist (1954 to Present)

"CHEERS TO A NEW YEAR AND ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT." and "YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL. YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE IT ALL AT ONCE."

ERMA BOMBECK - AUTHOR, HUMORIST (1927-1996)

SHOPPING IS A WOMAN THING. IT'S A CONTACT SPORT LIKE FOOTBALL. WOMEN ENJOY THE SCRIMMAGE, THE NOISY CROWDS, THE DANGER OF BEING TRAMPLED TO DEATH AND THE ECSTASY OF THE PURCHASE.

TRUMAN CAPOTE - AUTHOR, HUMORIST (1924-1984)

LIFE IS A MODERATELY GOOD PLAY WITH A BADLY WRITTEN THIRD ACT.

CLARENCE DARROW - LAWYER (1857-1938)

AS LONG AS THE WORLD SHALL LAST THERE WILL ALWAYS BE WRONGS AND IF NO MAN OBJECTED AND NO MAN REBELLED, THESE WRONGS WOULD LAST FOREVER.